The Qualms and Raptures of Youth
by H.T. Elia
Summary: Blaine and Kurt are born into a world full of sarcasm and cruelty of different measures, but, against all odds, they both paint their own path till the day they meet and continue to carve their acceptance of their own sexuality throughout their ever growing relationship.


**The Qualms and Raptures of Youth : Part 1**

Just like any kid, girl or boy, both Kurt and Blaine had a gradual education about sexuality throughout their upbringing, be it physical, or emotional. Their personalities were most definitely sculpted around it just like everybody else, either by their parents, peers, or the general public (Let's not forget the massive bombarding of _The Media _, hitting them left, right and center. That is a beast on its own.) It had definitely been a long trip, from the first moment they explored themselves as toddlers, until the day they lost their virginities. Of course, sex education never stopped as their relationship kept going through various different stages, becoming more like the roots of at tree, growing deeper and deeper until it seeped into every facet of their lives. However, these roots could sometimes break through the foundation and crumble a relationship, or it can strengthen it by reaching a new source of water, helping it blossom for many years down the road.

Yet, as gay men, their journey was understandably much bumpier and frightening, especially living in like State of Ohio, where homosexuality is "offensive", or "blasphemous", or just "plain gross". The scariest part of it was admitting the truth to themselves; the moment they realized that they are destined to fall in love with another young man, and thus live an essentially "miserable life". Or at least that was what people had insinuated.

The thought was unbearable for Blaine for a very long time, more than Kurt in a matter of fact. When he was brought up, Blaine was planted with the idea that girls were his only option for love. His brother, Cooper, and his plethora of his girlfriends did not help the matter either. He was often asked by his father "Do you know any nice girls at your school? You should bring one home some time." _I don't like girls dad_, he thought of telling him once. Also, the endless taunts by his brother, "When are you getting a girlfriend, Blaine? You know it doesn't bode well for a fourteen year old not to have kissed a girl yet." _I kiss boys OK?_ Blaine wanted to spit it out loud, and once again he faltered. His mother was the only one who never bothered him about such matters, because he knew deep inside she would love him no matter who he brought home at the end of the day.

Just like Kurt, Blaine had an idea about his gravitation to boys as early as second grade. Yet, he had never equated this feeling to "being gay" until he moved to junior high, thanks to the one boy: Martin Swenson.

Kurt on the other hand, was brought up by his parents differently, sure Burt was not too excited about his son being a flaming homosexual, but he was adamant about treating everyone with equal respect, whether they're gay, lesbian, blue, green, or 9 feet tall. Besides, how could he not love Kurt for whatever he is? His smiles are too infectious, his sense of humour comes in gallons (even when not appreciated), his bright curious mind is too intriguing and those beautiful crystal blue eyes so soft and endearing. Most of all, Kurt's sensitive soul. He is just too precious for Burt, and he always strove to keep him unscathed by the claws of reality, as often as he could and he will continue to do so till the day he dies.

It was the tender age of five when Kurt began to learn more about himself. It wasn't because kids called him "girly" or made fun of his "girly voice", or taunted him about the tea parties he held in his parent's backyard. He knew by the mere attraction he had to men; always interested by what they do, and how they smell, just really craving their closeness. Having spent so much time at his father's garage, Kurt was exposed to such feeling, more often than not, confirming this unavoidable attraction. Of course at the time, Kurt didn't link it with sex, as his pure, innocent mind was still unaware of its existence.

Like everyone, however, both Blaine and Kurt have their own unique stories that set them apart from each other and the rest of the world. Those experiences and struggles were what contributed in creating the people they are today.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Blaine always recalled the day he experienced his first hard on. He was playing in Cooper's room with the brand new GI Joes he got for his 9 th birthday. Out of nowhere, he heard a slew of boys come out to play football across the street from his house. Curious, Blaine ran to the window and watched them as they threw the ball and kicked it around with their feet. As he watched them run and tackle each other, the weird tight feeling in his stomach grew once more, and felt the pressure rub against the fabric of his shorts. It wasn't a new feeling, but this time it was ten times stronger than he had felt before. More out of instinct than awareness, Blaine slipped his hand through the band of his shorts and started rubbing himself, trying to relieve this odd itch. The more he rubbed, the stronger it became. A moment later, Cooper burst through the door and paused in horror as Blaine turned around, wide-eyed.

"What the hell Blaine," Cooper sneered in disgust. "If you want to play with yourself do it in your own room!"

Blaine quickly pulled out his hand, ran to his room and shut the door behind him. He hid in his closet through the rest of the day, too embarrassed to face his brother. His mother tried to convinced him to come down for dinner, but he said his stomach hurt and he didn't feel like eating. The awkward moment was leaked into the cracks of his brain, conditioning him to retreat behind closed doors, far away from prying eyes and listening ears. For the longest time Blaine considered the deed filthy, and always made him feel like he was doing something shameful. However, a constant thought kept nagging him whenever his hand traveled south the border—why did it feel so good if it was so wrong? A thought that bugged him for a few years after, until Blaine had the pleasure of meeting Martin Swenson.

On his first day of Junior high, during math class, Blaine sat by Martin Swenson for the first time. Martin was a bit taller than him, with messy black hair, Hispanic tanned skin and bright green eyes. He was a regular boy, always wore the same pair of jeans, Converse and a lot of Star Wars T-shirts. Blaine suffered a slow torture during that class, because as he watched the boy's graceful movements while he wrote down his notes, and answered some of the teacher's questions, blood immediately traveled down south between his legs. To his utter horror, Blaine felt the tightness getting stronger—that wonderful shameful feeling. Mortified by the possibility of being caught, Blaine crossed his legs and waited until everyone left the classroom. When everyone was out of sight Blaine ran to the nearest bathroom. He quickly stripped his trousers and rubbed himself senseless. Six strokes did it and Blaine came, squirts and all for the first time in his life. He looked down at his shirt with panic as he saw the sticky stain. He did his best to clean it with toilet paper, but it was prominently there to stay. Blaine was so embarrassed he started to cry, thinking that he would never be able to leave the stall and face the hallways without bringing attention. Suddenly he remembered he had an extra shirt for gym in his locker. His bag hid the stain effectively as he retrieved his spare clothes. He ran back to the bathroom and quickly changed.

All concentration at school was lost that day, as Blaine started to realize this boy's effect on his body. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he really liked boys. No, it was worse, he _loved_ boys. He wanted to kiss them, be with them, touch them. _Is this normal? _He remembered thinking to himself as he stared at his copy of 'The Merchant of Venice' in English class.

When he got home Blaine went straight to his room and turned his computer booted, he went straight to Google and typed:

_I am a boy and I like boys._

The things he found horrified him. Blaine had heard of porn before from his brother. He even watched a couple of clips his brother's friend played in Cooper's bedroom. But this was different, it was a load of images of men having sex, and doing other various activities Blaine never thought were possible. Blaine felt sick and shut his computer down. He ran to his bed and covered his head over with a pillow and cried into the sheets for what seemed like hours.

"What's wrong Blaine?" his mother asked when they all gathered at the dinner table that evening. "Why aren't you eating, sweetheart?"

"I'm not hungry," Blaine mumbled, tossing the food around his plate.

"Did something bad happen at school?" She asked, genuinely concerned.

_Yes. _ He wanted to say. _I think I'm in love with a boy._

"No, everything is fine." Blaine insisted. "I'm just tired. First day of school is always exhausting."

His mother smiled and squeezed his hand, a familiar gesture he grew to love. He remembered looking around at his family, wondering what his mother and father would think of him if he told them the truth. Worse, what would his bother think? Will they treat him like he's some filthy disgusting animal? Will Cooper make fun of him and taunt him for the rest of his life? Of course, that was not the case, but the idea of admitting his sexuality to his family made him weak at the knees. He even mapped out a plan that included packing his favorite things and saving money for when they were going to kick him out of the house.

Talk about the worst day EVER_._

In the next few weeks Blaine approached his research carefully, avoiding any pornographic images and videos. He specifically looked for helpful information, which later on helped him put things into a better perspective. There were others like him, he learned, and they were referred to as _gay _or _homosexual, _which also led him to learn about the LGBT community. Sadly, he also learned the words _faggot, homo _and many other unflattering names thrown at people like him_. _There were encouraging stories by older men reminiscing about their first male crushes, and boys talking about their first sexual experience, but there just as many discouraging, heartbreaking bullying stories that shot a shiver down Blaine's spine. Later in his research, Blaine delved into the physical world of homosexuality. He went to health websites and read pages and pages of information about risks and techniques and precautions. By the end of one month Blaine was an expert on being gay…well at least in theory.

In that same month Blaine started taking piano lessons at home. At first it felt gruelling and frustrating, yet the more he practiced the more he loved it. His teacher, Mr. McFarlane (or Josh as he liked to be called), a young, twenty-six-year old university student, was impressed by Blaine's amazing progress as he blew through the first four grades in three months. Throughout those two months Blaine appraised his teacher. He watched the way he spoke and moved around him, all the encouraging gentle taps on his back and how he held Blaine's shoulder as he pointed at the sheet music and the way he inclined his head to listen as Blaine played his practiced songs. Then one day…

"Do you like boys?" Blaine asked abruptly, interrupting Josh as he discussed the difficulties of a Chopin piece they were about to play. He wanted to say the word _gay,_ but he felt its utterance sounded too crass for his ears.

Josh was shocked at first, but then decided the truth was the best way to go.

"Are you asking me if I'm gay?" Josh eyed him carefully.

"Yes," Blaine blushed, looking down at his hands on the piano keys.

"You're good." Josh smiled. "Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

Blaine shrugged, his cheeks burning cherry red. "I don't know."

Josh laughed kindly. "It's OK, Blaine. It's not like I can hide it from anyone."

Blaine looked up, smiling shyly.

"Is that it?" Josh asked him dubiously.

Blaine nodded.

"OK," Josh smiled again, and pulled out more sheet music from his shoulder bag.

"I like boys too." Blaine said suddenly. He didn't know what came over him, what drove him to share such personal information with someone he hardly knew. The answer was clear: They both _like _boys. Also, who was better to tell than an older gay man with firsthand experience; someone who can empathize with Blaine.

The look on Josh's face was not shock, but more of understanding. A moment later, big tears spilled out of Blaine's eyes. He cried quietly, as his hands fell limply onto his lap.

"Hey, hey," Josh rubbed his back gently. "It's ok. It's going to be ok."

Blaine tried to control his sobs, but the tears kept flowing.

"I have the feeling that I'm the first person you ever told." Josh asked indirectly.

Blaine nodded, as he failed to pull himself together.

"Well, let me tell you something, Blaine. That was a very courageous thing you just did, and you're only twelve."

Blaine looked at him, surprised. "Really?"

"Yes," Josh smiled. "It wasn't until I was twenty when I came out to anyone. It's funny though, because the first person I told was my best friend and all he said was 'I know.'. Crazy."

"Wow that's old." Blaine said between sniffs.

Josh couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, try twenty six…Now that's old."

Blaine laughed wiping away his tears.

"But it took me a while to figure things out. Everyone is different. Your story will make the LGBT proud, though."

Blaine panicked at the last sentence.

"Oh no! No!" Josh exclaimed. "Blaine, don't worry. I won't tell anyone. It is a code between gays that outing someone before they're ready is a crime. What I meant is, when you are ready to tell your story, everyone in LGBT will admire you."

A sigh of relief escaped Blaine's mouth. "Would they, really?"

"Yes, of course. A few handfuls come out so early, except the ones that are obvious…but still…saying it out loud makes it official. You know why?"

"Why?" Blaine hiccoughed.

"Not only did you admit it to me, but you admitted it to yourself. Which is the most important part about coming out. And it doesn't matter if you tell one person or everyone. As soon as you say those words, you have finally come into terms with who you are, and it's an amazing feeling, as well as frightening. But mostly amazing."

Blaine smiled weakly.

"Is there anything else you need to talk about?" Josh squeezed his shoulder. "You know you can ask me anything."

Blaine shook his head and sat up straight, feeling a whole lot better taking some of the weight off his shoulders. "I am ready to practice."

At school Blaine became friends with Martin after their teacher assigned them together for a science assignment. The boys exchanged numbers in order to arrange a time to work on the project. In those two weeks, Martin warmed up to Blaine and _Blaine_ fell for him like waterfalls from a cliff. During recess Blaine was invited into Martin's gang of friends and they got along swimmingly as they played basketball and ate lunch together. Eventually Martin and Blaine became constant study exams neared, they sat together at the school's library, sharing notes and quizzing each other. Then Christmas break came and Blaine suffered from a huge withdrawal when his parents decided to take the whole family to London for three weeks. As beautiful as London was, Blaine felt lonely and bored, and he kept counting the days till he was back at school.

After Christmas break Blaine was invited, along with the rest of the class, to Martin's thirteenth birthday party. When Blaine bought his friend's present (A 300 dollar Star Wars Lego) he thought he was being an awesome friend, but when Martin proceeded to unwrap his gift, Blaine started to panic, thinking maybe he had over done it. He was right; the gift was too expensive compared to the rest of the stuff he received, except for the iPod. The iPod didn't count, however, since it came from his father. Martin was too pleased to notice Blaine's huge gesture, but his friends did and started treating Blaine unkindly behind his back, mostly out of jealousy. That was when his first nickname _Richie Rich_ was born, although, that nickname did not last for long.

Later that term a girl named Lara showed signs of undying devotion to Blaine. She would write him cute little poems and leave him his favorite chocolates in his bag before she left school. Blaine had no idea what she meant by all this attention and took them as friendly interactions. At her Valentine's party, to which both Blaine and Martin were exclusively invited along with a group of her close friends, Lara was glued to Blaine's hip. She followed him where ever he went, and even invited him on a private tour around the house. Unfortunately, Blaine continued to be oblivious, and signs of frustration were becoming apparent on her face. Later that night all the kids went down to the basement to "watch TV", but they all knew what Lara was really up to, except for poor innocent Blaine.

"I hid this under here yesterday!" Lara proceeded to retrieve an empty bottle of Whiskey from under the couch. "Are you guys ready to play the kissing game?"

The girls giggled furiously as some of the boys eagerly formed part of the circle. Panic took over Blaine; he had never kissed a girl before or anyone in that matter. What if he embarrassed himself in front of everyone? He was sure he would never be able to live it down.

"Blaine you should sit opposite me," Lara nudged him away. Blaine naively complied.

The game began and several kisses were shared with cat calls and "ews". Lucky for Blaine the bottle didn't fall on him until it fell between him and Martin. Everyone shared uncomfortable looks.

"Um, should this count?" a blonde girl said with a scrunched nose.

"That's gross," Said one of the boys, pretending to gag.

"No it's not. I have a friend, Rachel, and she has two gay dads. I think its ok."

Blaine looked at the Asian girl with wide eyes.

"Who cares? It's just a game, anyway." Martin smiled wickedly. No one believed their ears, or eyes as Martin crawled over to the paralysed, blushing Blaine. His heart beat frantically, as the boy kissed him right on the lips. To this day, Blaine could clearly remember the taste of Cherry Cola on those wet lips. What he didn't expect from himself at that moment was kissing Martin back; it was a chaste kiss on the lips, but it felt like it had all the sweetness of all the candy in all the world, packed into it. Blaine could hardly breathe as Martin pulled away, his mind buzzing with the new unexpected experience.

For Blaine, it was a pivotal moment in his life, a moment that finally assured him that maybe loving boys was not so bad after all. Why would it be bad if it felt so right? That night, Blaine was so distracted he didn't even remember when his mother picked him up from the party. When he got home and fell asleep (after a wild hand job under the covers), he dreamt about Martin, kisses and Cherry Cola.

After that weekend Blaine went back to school only to discover that Martin had been transferred to some catholic school in Lima. Shock couldn't begin to describe his reaction to the news; it was more of devastation. He cried in the bathroom all through recess and at the end Martin's gang cornered him behind school; they shoved him around, calling him "Boy lips" and "Faggy", blaming him for the loss of their dear friend. Apparently, Lara told her mother about the kiss he shared with Martin, and her mother told Martin's mother who was too furious and paranoid that her son was sucked into something so diabolical. The encounter with the boys left Blaine with a split lip and two bruised ribs. He recalled lying on the ground not daring to move, too scared he may never make it to the nurse's office. Yet, he couldn't just stay there, so he stood up gingerly, wincing and limping all the way to her office.

When he got home from school, Blaine limped up to his room as quickly as his injury let him. He hid there until his mother prompted him down for dinner. As he carefully sat at the table, everyone stared at his broken lip. The cut had crusted into a thick dark line, surrounded by a bruise that went down to his chin.

"Blaine?" His father looked at him incredulously. "What happened to your mouth?"

"I fell down the stairs at school." Blaine lied, taking a small sip from his water.

"He's lying," Cooper stated angrily. "It looks like someone rough-housed you at school. Did someone hit you? If someone did I can rough their face up for you."

"Cooper. Calm down." His father ordered.

"What?" Cooper cried, completely incensed. "No one hits my brother and gets away with it!"

"I said be quiet!" His father boomed. Cooper glared back defiantly.

"Is that true?" His mother squeezed his hand, her eyes struck by horror.

The sheer look on his mother's face took Blaine right over the edge. He lowered his gaze in defeat, tears running down his cheeks like rivers.

Everyone left their plates and ran over to Blaine.

"Tell us what happened, right now." His father demanded.

Blaine couldn't tell them the truth, not then. Instead of the truth, Blaine fashioned his own story of a group of older thugs at school that preyed at the younger students. His mother reached out to hug him, but Blaine retreated from her touch. His suspicious reaction drove her to raise his shirt and gasped at the dark purple and blue bruises on his chest.

The Wheels were set in motion the next day. His parents, along with him, headed straight to the principal's office, demanding answers as they held a list of the culprits' names in front of her face. By the end of the week, the boys who contributed to the physical damage were expelled, the others were given red flags and a chance to set things right. Apologies from their families with received in person and the boys were forced to make amends to Blaine for their misconduct. The nurse was brought in for questioning, and it was discovered that she had no legal medical certification to even be a nurse. Blaine could have died of internal bleeding. His father, a respected, renowned corporate lawyer, demanded an immediate termination, or else he would sue her and the school for abominable negligence and fraud. Everything happened so fast and the news traveled around school and every student was warned. By Monday next week a new fully certified nurse took the offer and 85% of the student body was frightened of Blaine.

Things should have been better, but they became worse. Bullying, luckily, stopped for a while in the wake of this debacle, but by the end of the school year it came back in full swing, as if nothing had happened. But that didn't matter, because Blaine was safe, too safe one might say. He had become the school's pariah; no one spoke to him or even laid an eye on him from fear of being expelled. If it wasn't one thing, it was another…

Life was much the same throughout his junior high years; Blaine went to school, focused in class, picked up dance classes at a community centre twice a week, came home for his music lessons, diligently finished his homework and went to bed. During the summers his parents took him and his brother to Paris and Rome and stopped at Disneyland after each trip.

The only thing that kept him from falling apart was his time with Josh, who quickly became Blaine's only best friend (or only friend in that matter). Blaine was now an advanced music student, good enough to be a music teacher in his own right. He was writing his own material by now and one day Blaine decided to sing a piece he wrote.

"I want to sing a song for you today," Blaine announced as soon as Josh walked into the room.

"Well, Hello to you too," said Josh with a high quizzical brow. "Blaine Anderson, you can sing?"

"Yes," Blaine's cheeks burned.

"And you have been hiding this from me why?" Josh squinted, playfully.

Blaine shrugged. "I usually practice alone at school during recess."

"OK, let's hear it then," Josh smiled, the sadness of Blaine's situation now playing in his eyes.

The nervousness was apparent as Blaine messed up a few notes at the beginning, but as he went on, he felt the music rush through him, relaxing every iota of his body. He closed his eyes and began to sing. His mind spilled into a pool of imagination. Blaine dreamed of singing to an audience who looked up at him ardently as he musically wore his heart on his sleeve, etching his words into their minds while they worshiped him with reverent-ful eyes. It was nice, and almost tangible. Then the song ended and he was pulled back from his reverie only to find Josh gaping at him.

"You wrote this song?" Josh breathed.

"Yes," Blaine eyed him apprehensively. "You didn't like it?"

"No…I mean Yes! It's beautiful," Josh said, tears welling in his eyes from sheer surprise. "Oh. My. God. Blaine..." Josh spread his hand over his chest. "This song…you almost made my heart stop."

"It wasn't that good." Blaine said with plenty of self deprecation. This praise was the last thing he had expected.

"Blaine, Oh, Blaine..." Josh sighed. "Always, so humble. You know one day you are going to have both boys and girls hanging off your arms. Not only are you beautiful and smart, but your voice will shake the core of many who will hear it. You must let others hear you."

At first Blaine refused to showcase his ever growing talent to the public, until Josh offered him a deal. The deal included the opportunity for Blaine to join Josh's band as the pianist for one night. In return he had to sing one solo. At first Blaine was hesitant, but the idea of playing with a full-fledged, well respected Jazz band at Ohio State University was too serious of a deal to give up. Finally Blaine accepted, under one condition. His solo must be kept secret, to serve as nice surprise for his family.

"When I was younger, my brother and I used to memorize songs and practice dance moves." Blaine said to Josh as he packed his music sheets into his bag after rehearsal.

"Oh really? So it won't come as too much of a surprise to your family." Josh smiled.

"Well...Yes and no," Blaine sighed. "We kind of stopped. Cooper started going out with girls and was no longer interested. He would rather stick his tongue down a girl's throat than hang out with me. We used to sing in coffee shops and sometimes at family functions. But it's been four years since and we're older. What if they think it's silly?"

"All boys get distracted as they hit their teens," Josh tried to shed some kind light over the situation. "I guess you know that already, you just turned fourteen."

Blaine blushed at the last comment. It's true he had a few more crushes after Martin, but he always kept them undercover, too scared to get himself punched in the face.

"Besides, they won't think it's silly."

"Maybe," Blaine slung his bag over his shoulders and shuffled out of the theatre.

"Blaine," Josh ran over to him. "Look, you have to understand, this talent you have is incredible. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks. You are meant to do this, and I am sure it is what you will be doing for the rest of your life, whether it's playing music, singing or dancing. Granted I haven't seen you dance, but I am sure you're fantastic. You're just one of those people who are just good at everything. Just promise me you'll never give up, no matter what."

So moved by those wonderful words, Blaine threw his arms around Josh and squeezed him into a tight embrace.

"I promise," a tear spilled over his cheek. "And thank you."

"You're welcome." Josh took Blaine's cheeks in his hands and placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Now, go home and rest. Tomorrow is a big day."

The concert was a dream-come-true. It felt like home being on stage as Blaine commandeered the piano. He wowed the audience to a standing ovation after every song. Yet, the moment of truth was when Blaine was left alone on stage. Silence fell as his hands touched the keyboard, eyes closed. An overwhelming power took over him as he pushed down on the white keys and slowly progressed to sing a Jazzy piano version of Teenage Dream. He broke and stole hearts all over the house, pouring his soul into the tune. It was just like his dream, except the audience was real and more ardent than he could have ever imagined. At the end of the song, the applause and cheers were deafening, as Blaine stepped away from the instrument and bowed gracefully. His heart thrummed the speed of a thousand trains.

After the concert, his parents and brother rushed to hug him, looks of pride dripping from their faces. His father was beyond impressed and his mother cried happy tears. Cooper patted his back and said "See? You don't need me anymore. You made half the audience cry and the rest swoon in their seats, all on your own."

It was the best thing Blaine had ever heard his brother say in his entire fourteen years of life.

Due to his success at the concert, Blaine became a permanent member of the Ohio State Jazz Band. In the next year, Blaine's music lessons were moved to the university. There, he dabbled with Drums, Violin and some Cello, until the instruments became part of his body. It felt like everything was finally falling into place; nothing can stop him now. He thought he was invincible…until he started high school.

If most people were asked about their high school experience, a very few select of people would ever say "It was fantastic". Most would say "it was horrific" or "glad I'm not a teenager anymore…". Blaine was no exception. The first semester of high school was the worst time of his life. It was a train wreck form day one. As soon as he stepped foot in the halls of Winston Churchill High, Blaine was already called a fag by several jocks. Some students laughed and others averted their eyes. _Is it that obvious? _Blaine wondered. What Blaine didn't know was how mean teenagers can be and how easily they can turn his life from paradise to a living hell. There was no one there to warn him, as he stumble blindly in the cesspool of silent treatments and primitive mannerisms. That day, Blaine went back home feeling sick to his stomach. He thought naively that if he slept it off it will be gone. He was very wrong.

The next day, Blaine was greeted by the word FAG sprayed on his locker, glimmering bright pink against the metal. A few days later jocks began to push him around; a shoulder shove here and a push against the locker there. What was more frightening was the teachers' complacency; they saw everything and did nothing. A week in, Blaine still made no friends and he was worried that his junior high experience will be repeated. The hierarchy was astounding; once the _populars_ preyed on the weak, the rest of the school body treated them like ghosts. Coincidentally, on his way out of school, Blaine found a sign-up sheet for a Glee Club.

_Do You Love to Sing and Dance?_

_Join our Glee Club!_

_Location: Choir Room. Time: 3pm Every Weekday._

_Sign your name below for an audition:_

Blaine signed his name. He had nothing to lose, after all.

On Monday, he went to his audition after class. Blaine was immediately accepted, with arms wide open, after singing his own adorable rendition of _Part of Your World. _

Blaine figured joining the glee club would give him some sort of escape from bullying, but what he didn't know is how unpopular the glee kids were. They were the losers; the bottom of the heap; the punch bags of the high school society. Yet, it was the only way he was able to make friends. He quickly became the glee club's new favorite. Everyone in the group wanted to have a piece of him, especially the girls, and one sixteen year old boy, who wanted more... Never in his life did he expect so many people to accept him so willingly. It was almost liberating.

As the first two weeks wore on the bullying didn't bother him as much, because he was hardly alone. When he was accepted into glee club, Blaine was given an ultimatum. The first thing the captain of the team, Mindy Rogers, said was: "In glee club we look out for each other. We are like a family. Would you be willing to put yourself on the line for your family? If not, the door is right behind you."

The one boy, who _wanted_ more was William Keating. William (or Billy as the jocks called him) never wasted his time. Out of all the glee club, William was the first to extend a hand with a casual introduction. He was a blunt, out and proud gay teen, with a mouth as quick as a cheetah. Also his gaydar was rather…efficient. Granted, William never told anyone about Blaine, because just like Josh he believed in the sacred outing code.

Beating around the bush was never William's style, he always went straight to the point. On the first day of glee rehearsals they exchanged numbers so they can become study partners. Later that night, Blaine received the first message from William.

W: So…how long have you known you were gay.

_Blaine: What?_

W: come on Blaine. I can literally smell it off of you.

_B: I'm not gay. Did one of the Jocks tell you that?_

W: Please, Blaine. That is an insult to my intellect…I don't need a jock to tell me you're gay. First I looked at you, then I talked to you and that's how I figured it out.

_B:…_

W: Out with it. I already know, so no point in hiding it.

W: Look. I'm not telling anyone. It's a gay bro code.

W: I'm also not asking you to come out to the world. It's just between you and me.

_B: OK…_

W: Was that OK you're gay?

B: YES…

W: Well jeez I know that already…I wanted to know how long you've known…

_B: About 12 years old._

W: Damn you're a late bloomer…I was 4 when I knew! And literally too! It was my neighbor's son, Sander. I was playing with him in the park and kissed him right on the lips. Then and there I decided that he was going to be my husband and we were going to live in a castle high, HIGH UP in the clouds. How cute, right?

_B: haha very cute._

W: But then I realized how overrated marriage is. Seriously who needs to be tied down to one person for the rest of their lives? Unless they're a penguin.

_B: Hey…I love penguins._

W: just don't tell anyone at school…they will bash your head on a locker…

W: Sorry maybe that was TMI…

William was like Blaine in more ways than one. He was the sedated kind of gay that kept up an Alpha image; never too flamboyant, yet always well dressed. He too was exceptionally gifted, but it lay mainly in sports. His talent (lucky for him), kept him safe from the jocks, because he was a huge asset to both the football and Baseball teams. Anyone that laid a finger on him would have to answer to Coach Mason. This little perk allowed William to do whatever he pleased, like join the glee club for extra credits.

Physically, however, William was a good four inches taller than Blaine, and his body much wider and stronger due to his athletic lifestyle. His skin was fair and his dark blonde hair was always neatly dishevelled. Under his fringe were an oddly dark pair of eyebrows that stood out starkly against his deep ocean blue eyes, eyes that, Blaine believed, belonged in a fashion magazine. Next to him, Blaine's small frame was emphasized, and his darker bronze features blazed in comparison. However, just like William, Blaine's eyes glowed, so big and genuine, with two ochre orbs that shimmered no matter what light they were under. These were features that William deemed as gorgeous-in-the-making.

"Come with me," William dragged Blaine to an empty classroom after glee rehearsal one day.

"What are you…" Blaine was cut off by a full fledge kiss on the mouth. Surprised by this sudden move, Blaine pushed him away, confused.

"What are you doing?" he stuttered.

"Wow, if you can't figure that out on your own then I don't think I can help you."

"No…I mean, do you like me, _like me_?"

"Yes," William dropped the sarcasm and looked at him earnestly. "I wouldn't have kissed you otherwise."

This time it was Blaine who kissed him back, but he pulled away once more, breathless.

"What was that?"

"That my friend is what they call a tongue…" William smirked as he licked his lower lip. "you've never been French kissed before?"

Blaine shook his head, cheeks blushing as dark as red roses.

"Well…Blaine Anderson…let me help you with that."

The same stunt was pulled at least four more times that week and it progressed to move into Blaine's room when William came over to help him with homework. Of course, after fifteen minutes of studying, William's lips where all over Blaine's face and neck.

"We shouldn't do this here!" Blaine freaked out.

"Why not?" William breathed as he continued to suck on his neck.

"My parents are downstairs…" Blaine shoved him away. "They don't know I'm gay."

William sighed as he sat up. They both jumped at a sudden rap on the door.

"Blaine, dear," His mother called as she opened the door. "I have cookies and milk for you guys."

"Wow!" said William a little too exuberant. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Anderson."

"Thanks mom," Blaine managed to say, slightly wide-eyed with a hand covering his neck.

"Are you ok, hunny?" She asked. "You look a bit flushed."

"Oh, it's nothing," Blaine waved his free hand. "I think it's the sweater…I'm wearing too many layers."

The suspicious look on his mother's face made him nervous, and he became even more nervous as she eyed William momentarily. A small smile betrayed itself on her lips as she turned around to leave the room.

"Oh my god," William beamed after his mother's footsteps faded away. "She knows…"

"What?" Blaine stared at him blankly.

"She knows!" William smiled eagerly. " She knows you're gay!"

"No…No she doesn't!"

"Yes, she does! Didn't you see the smile on her face? SHE KNOOOWS."

Blaine didn't sleep well that night. What if his mother knew? Does that mean his father knew too? What about Cooper? No. Cooper couldn't have known. If he did, he would have taunted Blaine to an inch of his life. Blaine decided then that William was not allowed to come to his house EVER AGAIN. The boy didn't take the news lightly and gave Blaine the cold shoulder for two weeks. Then one day, while he was alone at his locker, defenseless, Blaine was shoved against the metal by two popular Jocks, Laymen and Johnson.

"We know about you and your dream boy, Billy," Laymen spat in his face, shoving his arm under Blaine's chin, crushing his chest. Blaine struggled against his force, but it was futile; Laymen was twice his size and built like a gorilla.

"Yeah, faggy boy. We even have pictures, gifted to us by an anonymous source," Johnson smacked his gum as he put up the screen of his Android. He swiped through what seemed like a dozen pictures of him and William making out in the classroom, on different days. To his complete horror, after recess, the pictures were pasted all over the lockers and bulletin boards. He couldn't believe his eyes. All those horrible stories he read about on the internet were becoming his life. Blaine didn't wait one second. He ran away from school and walked all the way back to his house. No one was home when he got there, so he locked himself in his room and cried himself to sleep.

At the dinner table that evening, Blaine decided to come out to his family. PTA meetings were due that week and Blaine was sure that some tactless teacher or student would out him. He would rather have them hear it from him, than anyone else.

His heart beat hard against his chest, and his hands were clammy as hell. He laid down his knife and fork and stared at his food, gathering the courage to speak.

"You're not hungry, sweetie?" His mother eyed him affectionately.

"I have to tell you something," Blaine said quietly. By now everyone was paying attention.

"Are you OK, son?" His father frowned. "Is anyone bothering you at school?"

Blaine shook his head, tears rolling down his cheeks. Obviously that wasn't true, but he didn't want to mention the bullies yet.

"Then what is it, hunny?" his mother said, concern edging in her tone.

If possible, Blaine's heart was hammering faster than ever. He was going to stand up during the announcement, but his knees wobbled and his stomach was churning. He was sure to vomit if he stood upright.

"Come on, Blaine. The suspense is killing us." His brother griped.

Looking around the table, he met anxiously with three sets of expectant eyes. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm..I'm.."

He took a deep shaky breath. "I'm gay."

And that was it. It was done. There was no turning back.

"Oh, Blaine," his mother reached out and squeezed his hand.

His father, however, was harder to read as he sat frozen with an unwavering expression on his face.

"That's your news?" Cooper smirked. "We already knew that."

"Be quiet." This time the demand came from his mother. Cooper glared at her and finally shrugged his shoulders and chewed on his steak.

Cooper knew? When did that happen? William guessed his mother might know, but Cooper?

"Blaine, we don't talk about this stuff at the dinner table." His father concluded.

"James!" His mother chided, but was bizarrely ignored.

"But…" Blaine breathed heavily, completely astonished by his father's unwonted behavior.

"Blaine," his father threatened coldly, for what was the first time in Blaine's life. "Go to your room."

In his room Blaine laid on his bed and stared at the wall, all dried out of tears. His body sagged into the bed, all worn and beaten by the overwhelming events of the day. He just wanted to give up, run away and find a new place…

_And then what?_ His rational mind complained. _People are the same where ever you go…You are stuck in this hell my friend._

"Blaine?" his mother knocked on the door, rocking him out of his reverie. "Can I come in?"

"Yes…" he croaked, his throat aching.

She sat next to him, with one hand on his back. The touch was more than welcome, helping Blaine relax a bit as she rubbed warm, comforting circles between his shoulders.

"Does daddy hate me?" Blaine asked after a small stretch of silence.

"No," His mother said simply. "Your father doesn't hate you. He's just…surprised."

"Aren't you?" he appraised his mother through red-rimmed eyes.

"No, I'm not." She smiled genuinely. "I knew for a very long time."

"You did?" Blaine asked, a bit stunned. "How?"

"It's a bit hard to explain," She said. "It's more like a seventh sense that motherhood gave me."

"Seventh? What about the sixth?" Blaine frowned.

"Oh that," she teased. "I use that to gage how much food you boys need to eat."

A teary laugh bubble out Blaine's mouth, then he sat up quickly and hugged his mother. "I'm so sorry."

"Why are you sorry, sweetie?" She wondered, running her hand threw his mussed curls.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier." He apologized, eyes watering with fresh tears.

"Oh no, hunny." She said soothingly. "Don't apologize. I know how hard it is to admit these things to yourself, let alone others. Look at me."

Blaine move away and locked his amber eye's with his mother's.

"You are my beautiful little boy, and I will always love you no matter what. OK?"

Blaine sniffed a couple of times and tightened his hug at his mother's reassurances. They stayed like that until Blaine fell asleep on her shoulder.

Near midnight Blaine awoke form a bad dream. He got up with a pounding head and splashed his face with cold water. On his way back to bed, he noticed his phone light up his room. He looked down at the screen and noticed more than 30missed calls and 56 messages. Almost most of the glee club had texted him asking if he was alright. His heart swelled at all the love, bringing a sweet little sob out of his mouth. Most of them were from William.

W: For god's sake Blaine! Pick up your phone!

**Outgoing Call:**

W: FINALLY! What the hell Blaine! I almost called you twenty times. That just borders on creepy!

B: I'm sorry. I forgot to turn on my phone.

W: Not good enough…

B: I'm sorry…

W: Oh no, please, please don't cry. I'm such an asshole…I was just worried. You just ran out and we had no idea where you went.

B: That's OK…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to worry you...

W: I know this may sound stupid. But how are you doing?

B: Like shit.

W: I'll bet…We cleaned everything by the way. By we, I mean the glee club. The stupid janitor didn't even lift a finger. You should have seen Mindy, she was so furious, screaming like a banshee. She went straight to Laymen and kicked him in the shin. It was a sight that I will never forget.

B: Wow…I don't know what to say…

W: Don't mention it…no really…don't…she was really scary…don't need a repeat.

B: Haha…What about you? You were on those pictures too.

W: Do you know me at all Blaine? Well, I guess maybe you don't, you've only met me a month ago, and two week of which I completely ignored you…This stuff doesn't bother me anymore. One day you'll feel the same way too. Besides I've had worse happen.

B: Worse than this?

W: Believe me…I'll tell you all about it one day.

B: Ok…

W: By the way. Mindy is coming to pick you up for school tomorrow. And when glee is done I'm taking you home. That way you don't have to EVER be around the insufferable fools on the school bus. Also I'm coming over to your place to work on my homework…maybe then I'll tell you some of my stories.

B: You can't come to my house.

W: Well that's one way to say thanks. I thought we were past this.

B: No! It's nothing to do with before…I kind of…came out to my family this evening.

W: Oh…I see. Wow…Crazy day for you. How did that go?

B: It was horrible. I think my dad hates me…and if you come I'm afraid of what he might say or do.

W: That's fine Blaine. You can come over to my house then. I live with my mom, and she is very gay friendly.

B: Ok…I guess we can do that.

Next morning, Blaine made his way to the kitchen to find his father in his usual spot, drinking his coffee and reading the morning papers. The tension was so thick, his father cleared his throat and the left room. The hurt that washed over Blaine was beyond measure, leaving him no room for appetite. What happened to his father? The man with whom he talked about everything and anything; the person that Blaine looked up to? Where did he go? Was he always like this, or did Blaine break him last night?

"So you like boys, ha?" Cooper pestered, as he sat next to his brother at the kitchen table, a wide grin on his face.

"Shut up, Cooper." Blaine muttered bitterly.

"Come on," he punched his shoulder playfully. "I'm just kidding. I don't care if you like boys. The way I see it, if I'm allowed to love who ever I want, then you should be allowed to do the same. End of story."

"How did you know?" Blaine asked, curiously.

"I sort of had an idea…you remember that incident in my room…with the G.I. Joes?" Cooper raised his eyebrows in question. Blaine averted his eyes and stared at his food. "I saw what you were looking at, and not one of them was a girl. Besides, you're an Anderson and we're not short on good looks. Girl usually line up a mile for this goodness. Yet you were never interested...so you being gay was the only explanation I could come up with. I mean, between you and me, with those eyes, girls would have been knockin' at your door years ago. Also…I checked your browser history."

"WHAT!?" Blaine exclaimed. "You've been into my room? On my computer? That's private!"

"Hey, you were shutting yourself in your room for hours!" He said defensively. "I couldn't help it! I had to know. Also don't act all victimized…I know you've been steeling into my room and using my Axe deodorant and expensive hair gel…_But_, from brother to bother, I'm glad you're smart enough to do your own research, cause let me tell you. Neither mom or dad would have been able to tell you anything about being gay, or sex in that matter... Especially dad. I speak from experience. Just count your blessings for being spared the embarrassment."

The bit about his dad struck a chord, and Blaine slumped his shoulders and miserably tossed his oatmeal around the bowl.

"He hates me," Blaine whispered.

"He doesn't hate you," Cooper countered seriously. "He's just old fashioned. I mean, are you really surprised? Remember the big tirade he gave me when I got accepted into the theatre program at Ohio State?"

Blaine nodded.

"This is the same thing, well maybe just a bit more unconventional, but he'll learn to live with it, just like he did with me."

"What if he doesn't?" Blaine sighed. "What if this is it? He won't even bother talking to me anymore."

"It would be his loss," Cooper affirmed with another grin. "'cause you're a cool kid, as annoying as you can be. Most of the time."

Somehow, Blaine couldn't see both situations in the same light, at least of the first little while. His father hardly spoke to him for a month after his outing, but things changed for the better (ironically speaking) during the nightmarish week of the Sadie Hawkins's incident. However little change it may have been.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat," Cooper clapped Blaine's shoulder. "But acting class starts in 45 minutes. Need a lift?"

"No, Mindy is picking me up today."

Glares and whispers were all around him as he and Mindy stepped into the hallway.

"Don't mind them," She encouraged him. "They're all a bunch of dunderheads."

Blaine smiled weakly.

Life at Winston Churchill High continued, with the bullying magnified now that Blaine's sexuality was confirmed in public. Not only were the jocks shoving him around, but other kids were sneering at him with disgust and steering out of his way as if he had were the Hanta Virus, personified. His only solace was the time he spent at William's house, where gayness was welcome with no exceptions. What Blaine didn't expect, however, were the constant visitors that dropped by William's room. They were gay boys William met online, at parties or at coffees hop he frequented. He was like a gay antenna, working tirelessly, unearthing them like gems from a dark mine; there were lots of them. They came over to run away from their families, or just stopped by for a fool-around, which mostly took place in the bathroom, out of sight. That was the first time Blaine was spooned the bitter taste of jealousy and it did not go unexpressed. Much to his chagrin, William felt the need to sit Blaine down and explain himself, before things got messy. It seemed, since the beginning, William had never intended on having an exclusive relationship with Blaine, but he was more than happy to be his support system and show him "the ways"…every now and then. It took Blaine two weeks to get over the fact. Eventually, Blaine relented and learned to live with it, because he couldn't stay away from William, as much as he tried. He was just too charismatic.

"No one's coming around tonight," William teased one evening. "Do you want to fool around?"

William kicked Blaine's hip playfully.

"I have to finish my geometry assignment," Blaine feigned annoyance.

"Don't give me that," William tackled him and pinned him to the ground. He leaned down kissing Blaine roughly on the mouth, lacing their tongues together. "You know you want some."

Blaine gasped with surprise as William brushed his clothed erection against his.

"I think it's time for you to experience some new stuff anyway…" Blaine was so consumed by this new grinding experience he had no time to process coherent words. William shocked him with another rub, making Blaine pant for more.

"Oh my god," Blaine panicked as he felt himself slipping to his peak uncontrollably. Five more grinds and he was lost in his climax. This had been the first time he came in front of someone else, and the embarrassment was clear on his face.

"It's OK," William whispered in his ear. "This is normal. Actually, it was really, really hot."

But Blaine was still embarrassed; profusely.

"Here," William handed him a wet-nap. "Clean up. I'm going to take care of myself. You're welcome to come and watch if you like."

Blaine didn't. Instead he buried himself in his homework for the rest of the night until William dropped him off at his house. As the days went by, Blaine could think of nothing else. He kept replaying the experience over and over. Sometimes he thought about it in the most inappropriate times, causing some girls to notice his boner, and giggle to themselves. He tried to hide it with his book as he pretended to read the Shakespearean Sonnets, his cheeks blushing mercilessly.

"Are you going to keep staring at my crotch, or are you going to finish your English homework?" William grinned devilishly, as he caught Blaine checking him out. All his books were laid open all over the desk. A pen lulled in his hand, ready to put to use, but the page had been empty for more than an hour…

"Come here," William patted the empty space on his bed.

"No," Blaine shook his head. " I have to finish this."

"Come on Blaine!" William protested. "We both know you won't be able to focus until you take care of that business, which from the looks of it needs some serious help."

Blaine refused adamantly.

"Fine…" William walked over and stood behind him, his hand snaking down his torso until it stopped between Blaine's legs.

"You just sit here, I'll take care of it." William whispered in his ear. The whispers were always Blaine's undoing, so hot against his earlobe and so absolutely intimate.

"No…please." Blaine cried helplessly, in a feeble attempt to push William's hand away.

"Trust me," William kneeled by his chair and allowed himself to unbutton Baline's pants. "This will take off a load."

"What are you doing?" Blaine looked down frantically.

"unbuttoning your pants, Sherlock, what do you think I'm doing?" William chuckled. "Take off your shirt."

Blaine obeyed bashfully.

"Wait…" Blaine hindered William's wrist. "I've never been naked in front of anyone before."

"Relax, Blaine, yours won't be the first dick I've ever seen."

Blaine released his hold reluctantly and left William to his own devices. The boy sat up and planted a deep kiss into Blaine's mouth while palming him over his underwear. Blaine whined and pushed himself against the pressure. Happy to see Blaine comply, William expertly pushed his trousers and underwear down a few inches, releasing Blaine into the open air.

"My lord," William gaped. " For a tiny guy you sure are…out there…"

Blaine's cheeks burned as he coyly dropped his gaze away.

"Hey, Look at me," William touched his chin, tenderly turning his face towards his. "You know…I've never seen those green specs in your eyes before…sweet Jesus, one day those eyes are going to steel a lucky boy's heart and he'll want to keep you forever."

He planted one more kiss on his lips, before he took Blaine in his hand. Blaine shuddered at every stroke, gripping the arms of his chair with white knuckles. He bit his lip to stifle his whines, afraid of making too much noise.

"Now listen to me," William guided. "I want you to focus on my voice. I need you to try and hold your orgasm as long as you can. OK? The more you hold it, the better it will be."

Blaine nodded and listened to William as he whispered encouragements into his ear, helping him hold on for as long as he could. Eventually, William's pace picked up speed his encouragement turning into mutual gasps. Blaine was teetering at the edge, the lowest part of his stomach was getting tighter by the second. But he waited for William's instruction, which was voiced shortly after."

"You can let go now." William whispered his raspy voice filling his ear.

With that, Blaine let out a strong whine as he surrendered his body to a series of wonderful spasms, shooting out in bullets all over his chest. Too spent, Blaine leaned his head on Williams shoulder and passed out.

A few minutes later, Blaine woke up on William's bed. His scanned himself and saw that he was fully clothed.

"How are you feeling," William grinned from beside him, as he read his text book.

"What happened?" Blaine asked, confused as to why he was on the bed.

"You passed out my friend," William chuckled genuinely.

Blaine blinked.

"Hey, its ok. It happens to some people."

And he thought coming in front of someone was embarrassing…

"I can't come to your house for the next two weeks," Blaine apologized to William later that week. "I have to practice with the Jazz Band for a concert at the end of the month."

"That's fine Blaine," William shrugged. "It's not like we're in a relationship, remember?"

"Right," Blaine sighed, secretly wishing they were. "I just didn't want you to think I was ignoring you or anything."

"Well, thanks for telling me," William smiled. "But I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself."

They both fell quiet as they continued scratching away in their notebooks.

"William," Blaine ventured shyly.

"Yes."

"Will you go to Sadie Hawkins with me?"

William looked up, stunned. "Really?"

Blaine nodded shyly.

"So you're being the girl in this whole equation?" William teased.

"Oh…I guess." Blaine rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. "I don't know. I just really want to go. I thought maybe if you come with me it will be alright. For both of us."

"Hmm, no one ever asked me that before." William mused at the thought.

Another stretch of silence went by before William could give him a straight answer.

"Sure." He smiled back at Blaine. " Let's do it. Just because we're not girls it doesn't mean we're not allowed to go to Sadie Hawkins, right?"

"Right." Blaine grinned from ear to ear.

As the Sadie Hawkins week rolled in, both Blaine and William were endlessly taunted and harassed. Blaine was shoved to metal by hourly basis and left with comments like "Did a girl ask you yet? Oh wait…you're a fag." or "Hey, Blaine, why don't you be the girl and ask Billy to the dance.." William shrugged it off while Blaine took it to heart.

"What?" William snapped as he shoved books into his locker. "Did you just say what I think you said? If you did, then you are letting them win, Blaine."

"Well maybe I _am_ letting them," Blaine sighed, completely resigned as he leaned against the metals. "I have way too many bruises and I can't stand the way people are looking at me. This is just too much torture. Maybe I should just stay home until the dance is over…"

"Can you hear yourself?" William chastised, slamming his locker shut and scaring Blaine in the process. "You sound pathetic. You are going with me, and we are going to rub it in their face."

Then one unfortunate afternoon at the school library, a day before the said dance, Laymen and Johnson made their appearance, followed by a group of thugs from the football team. They lingered at their table, eyes glaring and arms folded. Johnson popped his gum a few times.

"If you don't mind some of us are trying to raise our IQs higher than 85," William broke the silence, not lifting his eyes from his homework. Blaine felt a cool draft behind his neck, as his sweat trickled down under his shirt collar. This was bad; Blaine knew serious damage was on the horizon.

Laymen plucked the pen out of William's hand and threw it at a bunch of student sitting behind them. Terrified, the kids gathered their things and ran out. The look on William's face was murderous.

Next, Johnson pushed their books and stationary to the ground. Blaine winced and hugged himself protectively.

"What the hell is your problem, Laymen!" William fumed. He pushed his chair back and stood at tall as Laymen. Even though they shared height, Laymen still outweighed William by 50 pounds.

"You wanna know what my problem is?" He spat in William's face, now standing five inches away from him.

"Yes, please, enlighten us…" William griped, wiping the spit off his cheek.

"We heard you ladies are going to the Sadie Hawkins dance," Johnson stepped in. "As a couple."

"So?" William challenged. "A couple" was not the right description, but Blaine knew William was only doing it to rile them up. It wasn't his finest moment.

"So," Johnson grabbed Blaine from his chair, twisting his arm behind his back. Blaine struggled, but there was no use; he was locked in tight.

"Leave him alone!" William threatened.

"Or what?" Laymen bit back, grabbing the collars of William's shirt. Furious, William lost his patience and shoved him away. Apparently, he was much stronger than Blaine had anticipated.

"You know you can't touch me," William warned him. "If coach Mason hears about this he will put you on the bench and give your spot to Charlie."

"I don't care." Laymen spit in his face. "As long as it stops you from coming to the dance, parading your gay ass in front of everyone."

To Blaine's shock, William laughed out loud. "Seriously? You're going to give up your position on the team because of two gay kids?"

At that comment, Laymen balled William's shirt and pushed him against the shelves, knocking some of the books onto the floor. If William was in pain, he didn't show it; all Blaine could see was his resolute anger.

"Say you won't come!" Johnson ordered, twisting Blaine's arm further, making him cry in in pain.

"You heard him," Laymen shoved William again.

"No!" William was in an unhealthy vindictive mood.

"Please Will…" Blaine croaked, terrified. By now, tears were running down his cheeks and dripping off his chin. "Please, please, please…."

"Shut up, Blaine!" William said carelessly and turned to Laymen. "Try and stop us!"

Too angry for Blaine's own safety, Johnson twisted his arm a little further. All it took, was one more inch, and Blaine felt a sharp agonizing jolt spread from his forearm all the way to his neck as the bone gave way under his tackler's hand. Johnson must have felt it too, because he quickly released Blaine letting him fall to the floor, as if he were an alien from outer space. There was one second of complete silence in Blaine's mind as he tried to adjust to this foreign feeling. Then out came the cries, flooding every inch of the library; Blaine screamed and screamed from agonizing pain, so hard, he was sure his throat was tearing open. It felt so surreal looking down at his arm, turned in such an odd angle. He was both shell-shocked and aware all at once; an outer-body-experience, as if he watching himself writhed from excruciating pain. He wasn't sure whether he should stop screaming or pass out.

He did neither. He couldn't; the pain was too strong.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!" Coach Mason came barging in, booming at the mess that lay in front of him. The old librarian, Miss Othen, stood behind him, completely unhinged.

"Johnson, Laymen, Crawford, Menzie and Raymond!" He shouted. "Principal's office; NOW! I swear to god if I don't find your there you will wish you have never been born! Miss Othen, call the ambulance, it looks like we have a broken arm here. I'll do the First-Aid."

"I'll do it!" William interrupted Coach Mason, as the thugs left the room in panic. "I have First-Aid. I volunteer at the rehab center down the street from here on the weekends."

Coach Mason nodded and let William proceed.

It seemed like the whole school was in the library at the point, watching the horrifying scene as Blaine rocked in his spot. His broken arm was resting awkwardly against his chest. By then, Blaine had stopped screaming, and just stared at the foggy floor, hardly breathing. He wished he could just pass out and be done, but the pain was too sharp.

"Blaine," William sat in front of him. "I need you to listen to me, listen to my voice."

Blaine nodded imperceptibly.

"Good. I need you to breathe, just like me." William inhaled and exhaled with Blaine until he got the idea. A shiver went down Blaine's back, causing his arm to move. He whimpered, snot and salty tears slipping into his mouth.

"It's ok. It's ok." William shushed him soothingly, rubbing his good shoulder carefully. "Now I need you to stay as still as you can, OK. Don't move until the paramedics come. Can you promise me that?"

Blaine nodded once more. He tried to look at William, but he can only see the outline of his face through his blurry eyes.

"Here's a blanket," Miss Othen covered Blaine attentively.

"Thank you, Miss Othen." William smiled carefully.

"Oh, it not a problem at all dear," She smiled back, her eyes gazing sadly at Blaine.

The Bell rang, yet no one moved until Coach Mason hollered them all out of the library.

"Ok, I'm going to take care of those assholes. Are you good here?" Coach asked.

"Yes, Thank you." William nodded. "I have Miss Othen in case I need anything."

Coach left a moment later, leaving William and Blaine and Miss Othen to wait for the Ambulance.

"I'll clean this up, dearie." Miss Othen set about picking up the boy's books off the floor until the paramedics appeared.

Blaine was immediately given a shot of Morphine to ease the pain, and on the way to the hospital, William held his good hand, rubbing his finger over his knuckles. He stayed by his side as the doctor and nurse did their work, gripping William's hand as they set his bones and dislocated shoulder. Finally, he was laid on one of the beds in the emergency room, half-wasted on painkillers… And there they waited for his parents to come.

An hour passed silently as his arm throbbed inside the fiber glass brace, where it lay limp in a sling. Blaine struggled to wrap his head about the whole incident. It all happened so quickly. How did he come from a quiet study session, to this?

"Blaine!" His mother ran over to him, followed by his father. "Oh my god, my poor baby."

She lean over and held his face in her hands, showering him with kisses and motherly endearments. Blaine sighed as a sense of comfort washed through him. His mommy was here, everything will be okay.

"Holy hell…" His father stared down at his broken arm. "Who the hell did this?"

His father was clearly angry. In a way, Blaine was glad to see him care, as unfortunate as the circumstance was.

Too groggy to speak, William stepped in and explained everything. Never in his life did Blaine see his mother cry. His heart shrank as she sobbed into his father's chest.

"It's ok," He soothed, rubbing her back gently. "Those boys will pay for what they did. We will fix this Blaine, for once and for all. No one gets away with hurting my son."

Blaine hung on to his father's words like he did to life. That was the first time his father regarded him since his outing. Blaine's heart could burst from overwhelming relief.

Later in the evening, Blaine was taken back home, resting in his bed. William didn't join them, not wanting to overstep on family time. When Cooper got home he was out-of-his-mind, raging about how much he wanted to punch these boys to death. Once again he was ordered to calm down so Blaine can have some peace and quiet. Without hesitation, Cooper collected himself and sat by his brother.

"I'm so sorry they did this to you…" Cooper chocked. It was one of the rare times that Blaine had seen his brother cry. It was always a weird experience, but Blaine was always touched by the sincerity.

A light dinner of grilled cheese and orange juice was brought up for him. As he bit into his sandwich his mother sighed deeply. She was curled by him on the bed, one hand playing with his loose curls.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," she apologized. "There are some things that a mother can't handle seeing, especially when they hurt her beautiful boy."

Blaine stopped chewing and smiled at his mother sadly.

"I just don't understand," she continued, touching his cheek lightly. "Why would someone hurt you? You are the sweetest kid I've ever known; so passionate and talented and so loyal…if only they could see you like I do."

Blaine looked down at his duvet, collecting himself as his eyes pooled with wavering tears. Sometimes, Blaine wished everyone was like his mother, that way he could live his life, agony free.

A small knock sounded on the door. It was Josh.

"Hey," Josh said affectionately, as he sat on the other end of the bed. "How are you, darling?"

"'mkay." Said Blaine hoarsely, his voice barely audible. He had done a number on his throat form all the screaming. He won't be able to sing at the glee club for days. Yet again, the thought of going back to that school made him cringe.

"I'll leave you two alone," his mother stepped out of the room quietly.

"I would ask you what happened, but your dad already filled me in." Josh looked at him, face scrunched in a frown. "I had no idea you were bullied that bad…"

"It wasn't always like this," Blaine admitted. "Just this week..."

"Sadie Hawkins" Josh finished. "What a terrible idea…it doesn't matter what they do, there's always some injured party. Why not have an all-inclusive dance…where anyone can ask anyone to go…But that would be like passing marriage equality in Ohio tomorrow…Too much to ask."

Blaine bobbed his, agreeing wholeheartedly.

"Have you ever been to Dalton, Blaine?" Josh asked out of the blue.

"No," Blaine frowned, not sure why he was being asked about this school. "I only know of them because they competed against the glee clubs from McKinley and Carmel High last year."

"Uhm," Josh nodded. "How would you feel like if you joined their glee club?"

Blaine stared at him, dumbfounded.

"But I go to Winston Churchill…"

"Well, that doesn't have to be the case anymore." Josh offered up his notion. "You see, my fiancé, Mark, he is a teacher there. I am sure with his help he can get you an early acceptance. Usually they only let students in at the beginning of every term. But, every now and then, with delicate cases such as yours, they will make an exception."

"Oh," Blaine breathed, imagining how it would be like if he were part of The Warblers. Yet, what did it matter. He would surely be bullied no matter where he went.

"No, I don't want to transfer schools," Blaine concluded. "It doesn't matter where I go; people always find a way to hurt me."

"Dalton is not like that," Josh explained truthfully. "They have a zero tolerance policy against bullying.

"So does Winston. They still do nothing." Blaine countered.

"Well at Dalton it is a serious matter," Josh assured. "It is 100% enforced; no exceptions."

A new ray of hope glimmered in Blaine's heart, hoping against hope Josh is right. It would be nice to finish his school years without constantly looking over his shoulder.

Over the weekend, Mark and Josh stopped by his house to validate the case to his parents. To Blaine's surprise, his parents didn't need convincing. By the end of Tuesday meetings were held with the Headmaster and papers were signed. Thanks to Blaine's straight A's, and his extracurricular activities, the school was more than happy to add another exemplary pupil into their student body. By noon on Wednesday, Blaine was fitted into a suit uniform and was marched to Dalton by both his parents, high hopes charging the air. The level of mortification was visible on Blaine's face as the headmaster ushered him personally to his first class.

Blaine didn't look up as the Headmaster introduced Blaine to his new teacher, and was promptly seated at one of the empty desks in the back. What was odd was that none of the students looked up as he walked to his desk. They continued reading their textbooks and jotting down notes, oblivious to his existence. At first, Blaine horribly thought the students were ignoring him. But as the bell rang, most of the boys came forward and introduced themselves, by first and last name. Apparently once a class is in session, no one was allowed to talk or raise their eyes from their books unless asked to. It was diligence or the front door.

Being the newest member at Dalton Academy, the other students took Blaine under their wing, walking him to his courses, showing him the main study rooms and cafeteria (which was more like a 5 star restaurant with, healthy high quality food). They even stepped out to the dorms where most of the students were residing. Due to the tiring long rides between Lima and Westerville, Blaine was eventually submitted to the Dalton dorms where he would reside for the rest of his school years excluding Christmas and summer holidays.

"Excuse me," Blaine looked up from his homework. "May we take a minute of your time?"

"Um," he said apprehensively, looking about the common room for any signs of danger. "Have I done something wrong?"

The three boys shared frowns and looked back at him.

"No," Said the Asian boy curiously. "What makes you think that?"

"Oh. Nothing," Blaine relaxed, feeling a bit silly. He was safe here. A whole week passed by since he transferred and everyone had been nothing but pleasant and helpful.

"My name is Wesley Jones," the Asian boy extended a hand and Blaine took it. "This is Jeff Sanders and Thad Williams. We are members of The Warbler Council. A little bird told us that you can sing. Today, we are having a set of auditions at The Warbler's Common at 2pm sharp and we, hereby, would love to invite you for a tryout."

Suddenly, Blaine felt cold shiver of anxiety. He didn't have any dancing lessons since junior high, and he definitely did not sing since the accident. The Warbler's were known for their amazing ability to sing and dance for hours on end. Unlike the New Directions; they only resorted to simple choreography that did not interfere with their singing. Besides, his arm was still in bad shape. Yet, something told him this was an opportunity he shouldn't pass. So, at 1:55pm Blaine sat on the bench with a group of equally nervous Warbler aspirants. He was in last.

As he entered the room, his wits were on a high, so aware of every gaze. He had chosen "Smile" by Nat King Cole, a song he often sings to himself whenever the world turns a cold shoulder. He took the Park-and-Bark approach, considering his condition and no one complained. Blaine found a spot in the midst of his Warbler audience, and sang his heart out, eyes closed and mind wrapped up in emotion. At the end, Blaine opened his eyes to a flurry of applause.

"Thank you, Blaine." Wes smiled professionally. "We will keep in touch."

When he entered his dorm room that night, a note was perched on his pillow, stamped close by the waxy Dalton emblem. He ripped it open and in it he found a formal invitation to join The Warblers.

"Order!" Wes pounded his gavel three times the next day. Blaine blinked at the unsual formality.

"Warbler meeting is in session." Thad announced.

"First we would like to welcome our newest member, Blaine Anderson." Blaine stood up, as Wes signaled him to the middle of the room. Blush burned on his cheeks at the round of applause.

"Thank you," Blaine nodded shyly. "But before we go on, I would like to come clean about something; something that I have always avoided sharing for many years."

The silence in the room was deafening as everyone waited for Blaine to speak his mind. He had to do it. This is a new beginning and he was going to do it right, starting by loving himself and admitting it to the world.

"I'm gay."

Everyone stared.

"Blaine, you don't have to explain yourself to us," Jeff assured him. "In this school, everyone is treated equally. You are safe here."

"I know. I'm doing this for myself." Blaine explained quietly. "I'm just tired of hiding who I am."

"Are you single?" Jeff inquired with a quizzical brow.

"Um," Blaine was stumped. "Yes?"

"Well, then." Jeff walked over to him, flamboyantly flipping his Blonde fringe out of his eyes. "My boyfriend, here, is out of bounds."

"Yeah, yeah…" Nick rolled his eyes and waved his hand in dismissal. "He wishes..."

Jeff grinned at him from ear to ear then winked at his boyfriend. A shock of laughter rippled through the Warblers as Jeff attacked his man with full kiss on the mouth. Suddenly, everything felt so light, as if all the weight on Blaine's shoulders turned into a million helium balloons, flying carelessly into the sky.

Dalton was a slice of heaven on earth. The synergy was mind boggling between the hundred and some students. After the second Warbler's rehearsal, Wes declared Blaine as the leading voice of the Warblers, something that hit him from left field. Of course the decision was diplomatic, as everyone in the group had the right to vote. As amazing as this development was, Blaine grounded himself by working hard, honing his dancing skills and refining his singing to reach their par. Not once did he let it get to his head. School work was hard at first, since the material they learned was at university level. Yet, Blaine was determined to catch up, and it only took him two weeks with the help of Wes, Jeff and Nick.

Everything was finally perfect. At least, he thought it was perfect until, one day, a beautiful boy with porcelain white skin, rosy cheeks and stark blue eyes tapped him on the shoulder.


End file.
